Disgraced ex-Premier League referee David Coote has been noticed in a dramatic profession shift, now working as a parcel supply driver following his high-profile dismissal from top-flight soccer.
Coote, 42, was suspended in November 2024 and formally sacked in December by the Skilled Recreation Match Officers Restricted (PGMOL) after the emergence of two damning movies. One confirmed him snorting a white powder, believed to be cocaine, whereas the opposite featured him insulting former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, calling him a “German c**t.”
PGMOL confirmed on the time that Coote had breached his contract so severely that his place grew to become untenable, including that they remained dedicated to supporting his psychological well being and welfare.
UEFA additionally handed Coote a 16-month ban for bringing the sport into disrepute.
Now, Coote has resurfaced working for Evri, delivering parcels close to his residence in Newark, Nottinghamshire. Talking to The Solar, he defined that the job helps him rebuild after his fall from grace.
“I’m simply making an attempt to make an trustworthy residing,” he mentioned. “The job is protecting me busy and occupied… I’m doing what I need to do, specializing in what’s necessary like spending extra time with family and friends.”
Coote, who refereed over 100 Premier League matches, gave an emotional interview earlier this yr the place he got here out as homosexual and admitted utilizing cocaine to flee the relentless pressures of refereeing.
“It fills me with an enormous sense of disgrace to say that I took that route,” he mentioned. “However I used to be struggling. Soccer grew to become a spot the place I might go and be engrossed, however then I’d come residence and be residing a double sense of being.”
He defined that years of repressing his sexuality, mixed with the depth of elite soccer, led to poor choices that finally ended his profession.
Regardless of his apologies, Coote’s leaked remarks about Klopp brought about widespread outrage. Within the video, he calls the Liverpool supervisor “boastful” and “a f*ing ct,” including that he has no real interest in chatting with him.
Coote later mentioned he deeply regretted his language, saying it fell effectively in need of the requirements anticipated of a top-level official.
His story has since sparked wider conversations about psychological well being, LGBTQ+ illustration, and the pressures of elite officiating, with some calling for higher help programs inside the sport.
